04.02.2026
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Two releases this week ....
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Phil Shoenfelt & Southern Cross "Live At The Kino"
OUT: 03.02.2026 / CD (Tiny Global Productions)
"Anyone
in the US or UK who's heard of Ebensee, Austria, likely knows it for
KINO EBENSEE, an old movie theatre in a tiny mountain town run by
Konrad Wallinger, which invariably becomes the favourite European venue
of any act lucky enough to play there. It’s a remarkable venue that -
for whatever magical reason - always brings out the best in bands. Phil
Shoenfelt & Southern Cross first played at the Kino in 1999 and
have played there each year since.
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Sound engineer Roland Promberger produced a sterling recording of the
band’s gig at the Kino earlier this year and we couldn’t pass on it.
It’s that good! Their sound is rooted in something of rock tradition
but they manage to transcend the genre. They’re a rare example of rare
late-rock experimentation and vision.
We’re
offering this release as a CD plus a massive essay (Shoenfelt is a
great writer) for the booklet accompanying the package. He has a long,
strange history on the margins, journeying from his birthplace in
Bradford UK to rough 'n' tumble early-‘80s NYC where he dallied with
The Clash, Alan Vega, Nico and Carl Perkins. He then returned to the UK
to get cleaned up and mingled with Nick Cave, Barry Adamson and Mark E.
Smith. We can’t wait to read about it.
The cover painting is by Claus Castenskiold, known for his work with
the Fall, The Gun Club and Kid Congo. He offered use of this brilliant
piece to accompany this release." (Tiny Global Productions)
Order from Bandcamp (Phil Shoenfelt's store)
Order from Bandcamp (Tiny Global Productions' store)
| Nikki Sudden & Phil Shoenfelt "Empty Grave"
OUT: 06.02.2026 / Digital (Fuego)
  
fuego.lnk.to/emptygrave
The latest online-only release from Phil's
recently exhumed archives. Obscure and alternative versions from the vault.
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Nikki Sudden and Phil Shoenfelt first met at the Rock
On record stall in London’s Soho Market in January 1978. Almost twenty years
later, they reconnected in Prague and began writing songs together.
The first result of their collaboration is now being released
as a digital EP called Empty Grave.
The recording precedes both Phil’s spell as lead guitarist on two legs of
Nikki’s European tour (the Rock and Roll Tour of November 1997 and Jan/Feb1998),
and the recording of the album Golden
Vanity at Interzone Studio in Berlin (finally released by UK label Easy
Action in 2009).
In February 1997, Nikki had booked a studio in the
back room of a pub on top of a Moravian mountain. He invited Phil to join him
and his Brno-based backing band, the Golden Angels, in a “live in the studio”
recording session that was recorded directly onto DAT. In one afternoon they
recorded “Independent Girl” (originally by London band The Boys), the
previously unreleased “Empty Grave”, “Broken Glove”, an early version of “Angel
Wings”, and an acoustic version of “Teenage Sheets”.
The recording session, which was mixed Sam
Phillips-style by adjusting the position of the microphones, is gutsy and
raunchy. It showcases the raw power of these two individual singer-songwriters
and values rock and roll authenticity over sonic cosmetics. The tape, which was
believed to be lost, was recently rediscovered and has been digitally restored.
Now it is being released by Fuego.
As a bonus, the first live performance of the then-untitled
song “Empty Grave” rounds off this unique EP (recorded at Klub Roxy, Prague, 27th
August 1996).
The artwork is a unique painting of Nikki and Phil by
renowned Greek visual artist and author Giorgos Voutsis. |
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